


When In Doubt, Pet

by SmolGooDragon



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gavin is confused, Gen, I needed an excuse for Nines to experience the joy of receiving affection from a cat, and because the author can't control their stupid sailor... typing, and very gay, but now he knows that his future bf is a cat person and shit that meets all his standards, but this is very Gen, can you tell that I don't know how to tag this properly, he does not realize he is gay for an android yet, literally only rated T because Gavin can't control his stupid sailor mouth, no beta we die like men, reed900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 14:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15775995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmolGooDragon/pseuds/SmolGooDragon
Summary: In which RK900- lovingly nicknamed 'Conrad', 'plastic asshole', 'plastic dipshit', etc.- sees the inside of Gavin's apartment for the first time and discovers the mystery and intrigue that is feline affection.





	When In Doubt, Pet

**Author's Note:**

> Frankly, this is just blatant self-indulgence because all of my fics clearly need more cats.  
> Nines is a deviant in this fic, but he's very new to the whole concept of 'emotions' and 'likes and dislikes'.  
> Also yes, he is named Conrad in this fic, although I call him Nines 99.9% of the time. I literally can never decide on a name for him but I enjoy 'Conrad', so I went with that.  
> Enough rambling from me, I hope you enjoy ;>

Rain pounds on the roof of the car as it cruises down the dark highway, the old, beaten interior quaking from the bass of too-loud rock and roll.

Conrad’s hands are folded in his lap, his posture perfect as usual. He idly glances around without moving his head, taking the occasional glance at Gavin-- both hands stiffly on the wheel, jaw harshly set in place-- before looking out the window once more. Despite the roaring of rain and music alike, the heavy silence between them is palpable.

 

After a drive from the precinct of approximately seventeen minutes and thirty-six seconds, Conrad adjusts his position in the worn seat as Gavin pulls up in the miniscule parking lot of a series of apartment complexes. He tilts his head ever-so-slightly as Gavin grumpily unbuckles his seatbelt and removes his key from the ignition, allowing the drum of the music to continue for another second or two before it fades into silence.

As Gavin pushes his way out of the car, slamming the door with an irritable thud, Conrad unbuckles his own seatbelt, exiting the car far more silently than his human partner. At the foot of the apartment building’s stairs, Gavin turns his head to glance over his shoulder, shooting Conrad an accusatory glare. “Fucking hell, plastic, what’s your deal, stalking me all over the place?”

The android merely raises a brow, his arms folded professionally behind his back. “I am your designated partner and protector, Detective Reed. You’ll have to pardon the ‘stalking’-- as you so eloquently put it-- because this is the most efficient way for me to keep an eye on you.” 

Conrad pauses, a spark of amusement gleaming in his eyes for the briefest moment. “That, and it’s typically considered rude to leave a guest waiting in the car.”

Gavin narrows his eyes, the corner of his lips turning up in a sneer. “You’re a pain in my ass, that’s what you are. Not a fucking  _ guest _ .”

However, much to Conrad’s surprise, Gavin turns to face forward once more, grumbling as he stomps up the stairs. Must be too tired to argue further, then.

Conrad patiently follows behind Gavin at a steady distance of three steps-- close, but not too close. He’s not going to push his luck.

After ascending a few flights of stairs, Gavin finally stops in front of a door, fumbling around in his pocket before fishing out his keys. As he unlocks the door, Gavin shoots another withering glare at Conrad. “You’d better not fucking touch anything.”

The android quirks a brow, resisting the urge to snort. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Detective.”

Gavin grumbles under his breath as he pushes the door open-- likely something to the effect of ‘fucking androids’. Conrad has heard that line approximately six times in the past few days, seven if he’s right about his human partner’s grumbling.

He steps into line behind Gavin, his gaze already doing a methodical scan of the room.

There are several white streaks on the wall-- covering up damage from a past tenant, most likely, though he’s not about to rule out the detective’s involvement in  _ some _ of the damage.

A single couch, worn and a bit threadbare. A small coffee table beside said couch. Cardboard boxes on the floor.

 

...Boxes?

Conrad blinks, his LED briefly flickering yellow. Surely Gavin wasn’t moving out of his apartment-- there was no evidence to back that up, nothing in the boxes. And from his scans, he can tell that Gavin hasn’t just recently moved in, either. So why--?

Conrad tilts his head just a bit as a shock of white saunters into the otherwise-drab room, a snow-white tail flagging the long-haired creature’s entrance.

 

...Ah. The cardboard boxes serve the purpose of entertaining a cat.

Gavin huffs and reaches down to stroke the fluffy creature as it rubs against his leg, letting out a plaintive meow. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, just gimme a sec,” he mumbles. He gives the cat one last scratch under the chin before glaring at Conrad. “I need to go change my clothes, but I swear to god, if you fuck  _ anything _ up while I’m not keeping an eye on you, I’ll fuck  _ you _ up. Got it?”

Conrad shoots Gavin an agreeable nod, noting the cat approaching in his peripheral vision. “I won’t touch any of your belongings.”

Gavin shoots Conrad one last, wary glare before turning and making his way to his room, his shoulders hunching up just a bit as he passes by the kitchen-- it’s littered with dishes left uncleansed, old wrappers.

 

Is Gavin feeling  _ self-conscious _ around him, despite all his protests that Conrad, along with the other androids, cannot actually  _ feel _ anything?

 

Intriguing.

 

Conrad suddenly blinks, his head tilting in a quick motion-- not by much, but his LED still flickers yellow in mild surprise.

The cat is rubbing on  _ his _ legs now, spreading pristine, white imperfections all over Conrad’s dark slacks.

His neutral expression finally breaks, his brows furrowing. He’d never  _ seen _ a cat before-- what was it doing? Did it expect something of him? What does one  _ do _ with a cat?

 

_ Scanning database… _

_ Inconclusive information. Connecting to Internet… _

 

_ ‘Why is the cat rubbing on me?’ _

 

_ Search results: 24,100,000 results. Seeking commonalities… _

 

Conrad quirks an eyebrow. “...I am not part of your territory,” he remarks simply. “You have no need to impart your scent on my person.”

The cat, evidently, does not care about his words. It continues to make that strange, throbbing noise with its throat-- purring?-- as it continues to rub its face and body along his legs. The information is hardly relevant, and yet, despite himself, he finds himself adding all of the collected information to his database. The ritual seemingly complete, the cat finally pulls away and sits down in a single, pompous movement. It stares at him expectantly, its tail twitching from side to side-- and, once more, he finds himself clueless as to how he should proceed.

 

“ _ Brrrrlp? _ ”

 

Both of his eyebrows shoot up now. After a moment, he tentatively crouches down in an attempt to get closer to the hairy creature’s eye level.

“Are you trying to converse?” he questions. The cat, of course, does not respond.

Instead, it suddenly gets to its feet and marches over, firmly headbutting his hands and proceeding to rub against him once more.

For some…  _ inexplicable _ reason, he finds himself not only intrigued, but  _ endeared _ . This creature doesn’t even know him, has never seen or smelled his presence before, yet here the thing was, just…  _ nuzzling _ him.

 

He finds himself numbly moving a hand, hesitating before placing it flat against the cat’s spine. Much to his shock, it actually  _ arches _ into his touch, and the purring grows louder-- he has pleased the small creature, it seems.

Another tentative shift of his hand. He runs his fingers over the cat’s fur, marvelling at the sensation of how utterly  _ soft _ this creature is.

 

Conrad thinks he genuinely enjoys this sensation.

Another gentle stroke, rewarded with more purring and arching and rubbing. He brings over his other hand and scratches under the cat’s chin--  _ good yes positive feedback, so much positive feedback from this strange little creature, he’s doing something right _ \--

 

After a few minutes pass, despite his fascination, Conrad becomes acutely aware of being watched. He tilts his head to look up, noting a very confused Gavin standing in the hallway, staring at him.

Conrad clears his throat before suddenly getting to his feet and straightening up, squaring his shoulders in a more professional stance. “My apologies. I did not know if the cat counted as something I was not allowed to touch, but it was quite… persistent.”

Gavin merely squints, raising a brow-- he looks suspicious, but there’s something else there. Bewilderment? Maybe. Before Conrad can continue to examine the detective’s shifting emotions, Gavin huffs and marches over to the kitchen. He briefly moves out of Conrad’s sight range but returns with a bag cradled in his arms ( _ scan complete, Kitty Krunchies _ _ ™ _ _ brand cat food, poultry flavor, “50% more protein!” _ ). It only takes a moment for Gavin to pour some of the bag’s contents into a metal dish. The cat immediately bolts for said dish, leaving Conrad with a vague sense of disappointment. He had wanted to pet the cat more, but it seemed that was now out of the question.

Gavin shoots him another strange look, that suspicion and confusion again, before putting the bag away and grabbing a protein bar out of the cupboard. He moves past Conrad in that swift, grumpy storming he has so perfectly mastered, reaching for the door and swinging it open.

“Alright, c’mon, dipshit. I’m good to go.”

Conrad blinks, shooting the cat one final glance before mutely following behind Gavin as the man locks up the apartment once more and trudges back to the car through the rain.

 

The car starts with a rumble, the music of the radio suddenly resuming its loud blaring and thumping. Conrad finally glances over at Gavin, quirking a brow as he watches the man fumble for his seatbelt. Conrad has already fastened his in one swift, efficient motion.

 

“If you don’t mind my asking, what is your cat’s name?”

 

Gavin pauses before shooting the android beside him a wary glance. “Why d’you wanna know, huh?”

“Just curious.”

Another suspicious squint, but there’s nothing to imply that Conrad is lying, or attempting to yank his leg. The android really does look genuinely curious, his head doing that weird little tilt again.

 

Gavin frowns before shifting the car into reverse, backing up in a swift, well-practiced maneuver. Conrad almost wonders if his human partner is giving him ‘the silent treatment’ again, but the man’s voice eventually breaks the silence in the form of a grumble as he shifts the car into drive.

“Her name’s Charlotte.”

 

Conrad blinks, finally turning his gaze away from Gavin and folding his hands in his lap, staring straight ahead-- resuming his standard position in the man’s passenger seat.

“Charlotte is a pretty name,” Conrad remarks. “She’s a very nice cat.”

 

That suspicious look yet again, but it fades quickly. Gavin snorts loudly.

“‘Very nice’, my ass. She’s a little shit-- she just put on a show for you because you’re new.”

“I see.”

 

Conrad does not, in fact, ‘see’. He had never engaged with a cat before today-- it’s all new information to him.

Another moment of silence.

“I believe I like cats.”

 

Gavin raises an eyebrow at the android, but for once, he doesn’t say anything. Just pulls that suspicious face, but now he just seems even  _ more _ confused by Conrad’s words. He shakes his head in disbelief and keeps his gaze on the road.

 

Gavin doesn’t need an LED in his temple for Conrad to see that the man is deep in thought.

 

Intriguing.


End file.
